The Rise of Field Service Management (FSM) and Why Mobile First is Here to Stay

You’re probably wondering, what IS the future of Cloud Field Service Management (FSM). Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s…CYBORGS. The end. Nothing else to see here…

On a more serious note, the cloud FSM market is evolving alongside the world’s continual adoption of new technology and technical enhancements. ‘Patience’ is becoming an old latin term to customers, as operational efficiency is improving their experience and simplifying the field service industry, a category that we lovingly refer to as Mobile Workforce Management. The Mobile Workforce game is no longer just for the telecom industry, with health care and retail evolving how they cater for their customers.

Mobile Technology: Today’s Smartphones are creating a wealth of advancements in real-time communication between the field service team and back office. This streamlines day-to-day process, reducing human error and increasing efficiency

With an estimated market worth of 2,254.5 million USD by 2022 (from 1,013.2 million USD in 2017), we can expect to see continual innovation in cloud FSM and Mobile Workforce Management.

How do mobile workforce management solutions help this drive?

Well, if you enjoy having your vehicle dashboards piled high with dodgy printed spreadsheets with misspelled addresses, wrong phone numbers, and incorrect appointment times, then mobile workforce management solutions don’t help much. If you prefer a much cleaner and eco-friendly approach, then solutions like Skedulo help with the above, along with balancing resource availability, skill sets, customer needs, travel times, length of the job *gasp for air*… and so much more!

What industries are expected to see some of this market share?

Numero uno is the training, education, and consulting market, estimated to have the largest market share in 2017. In second place, the retail and consumer goods vertical is one of the fastest-growing industry verticals due to the increase in consumer purchasing power. Cloud FSM solutions delivery efficiency offer a wealth of benefits in this vertical, including reporting and analytics, and connecting mobile employees to nearby offices and outlets.

Other industries that will profit from the technical advancements of cloud FSM, include:

Health care: The aged care and home health care industry need cloud FSM as a matter of life and death … no really. Customer needs are no joking matter in this industry and the adoption of Mobile Workforce Management is detrimental to seamless customer service and support. HealthStrong in Australia use Skedulo to facilitate their 300+ practitioners in the aged care sector and have increased weekly appointments by 30% since adopting our scheduling brilliance.

Non-profits: Not-for-profit’s like Furniture Bank in the United States, use Skedulo to manage the pick-up and drop-off of donated furniture to support those in need. Since adoption, they now have full visibility of their team’s locations and can strategically provide more furniture to those in need on a daily basis.

Solar Energy: Field service technicians require Mobile Workforce Management to optimize appointment scope and availability. Efficiency in this field means reduced windows of waiting time for potential customers.

What regions are expected to have the largest market share?

The Outer Rim Territories and Wild Space… yes, that was a Star Wars reference. In all seriousness, North America is estimated to have the largest market share in 2017, while Asia-Pacific is projected to be the fastest growing region from 2017-2022. Why? North America has seen advancements in IT infrastructure and technical expertise, which takes kindly to cloud adoption.